The men were laughing and talking as they enjoyed the meal. When the door opened, they turned to see a woman enter the room. In her hand, she held a beautiful alabaster box. The container itself was very valuable and the men knew that the oil it held was worth more than they could earn in a year. Maybe, they thought she is going to give it to Jesus for His ministry.

They watched as she moved to where Jesus sat. The Master closed His eyes as she stood over Him. Then the disciples gasped as she did the unthinkable. Cracking the container open, she poured all of its contents onto Jesus’ head. The precious ointment soak His hair and ran down His head. Mixing with His tears, it flowed through His beard and soaked his clothes. The sweet smell of this extravagant action filled every corner of the room.

The disciples were furious. They could not understand how anyone could be so wasteful. They thought, “We could have sold this perfume and fed many poor people. We could have expanded the ministry. We could have done great things with the money.” Sadly, they have allowed the smell of money to overwhelm the precious aroma of this woman’s sacrifice.

But Jesus said; Leave the woman alone. She has done a great thing for Me. There will always be poor people, but in a few days, I will not be here. You call her extravagance wasteful. But by pouring this precious ointment onto me, she is preparing my body for burial.

Most of the disciples truly loved Jesus. But they had not yet learned that the purest form of worship is an unreserved sacrifice. Anything that money can buy will soon be forgotten but what this woman did will be honored wherever the gospel is proclaimed. Her audacious gift teaches us that a life broken and poured out for Jesus is never wasted.

Matthew 26:6-14

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Email-pavementendsministry@gmail.co